Justina Lay

Mindful Wanderings

Conclusion

This trip has overwhelmed my sense and I have started looking at the world with a different understanding of how I can influence it. I learned about how we could incorporate natural textures into our designs and how people experience the landscape is something that needs strong consideration in every design. I was also able to gain a better understanding of what future paths are available to me after I graduate from Cal Poly Pomona. This field trip opportunity was an eye opening experience to how I can influence a landscape with my designs. I found that landscapes can be altered dramatically depending on the client’s and designer’s views regarding the feelings they are trying to convey in the space. When we were passing through Las Vegas, we visited the Spring Preserve and through that experience I was given a more authentic view of Las Vegas. It was nothing like the Las Vegas strip which I had seen several times before in previous trips with my family. I am now able to see that some designers focus on just creating a landscape that can be visually appealing but does not represent or benefit the original environment. If we study how landscapes are viewed and can change the way they are experience, we can allow the visitors to understand the purpose of the landscapes. This field trip experience has become an inspiration to me. Causing me to alter not only my designs for functionality and visual pleasure but also for experiences and conservation of natural landscapes.

Introduction

This zine focuses on the first year class field trip to Valley of Fire, Shoshone, and several other locations we visited along the way. This trip was created to help us understand different types of photography and scale needed in our future careers as Landscape Architects. During the trip, majority of our time was used to understand how to mindfully explore and photograph each location we visited. This was a experience has allowed for broadening our views that could not be taught within the walls of a classroom. The locations we visited on trip allowed me to understand the importance of physically experiencing each locations for myself instead of observing an area through pictures. Visiting the locations myself gave me the opportunity to learn how to take more meaningful and professional pictures. As the photographer, I was able to change the focus of my images and change the field of views to my preferences. This allowed me to give viewers a look onto what I saw in the landscapes. The images that I have photographed are in varying types of layouts to help convey stronger understanding of the space as well as the importance of laying out the photographs. The zine includes components of photography that allows for greater understanding of the location and its landscapes. I know that with this experience has helped me understand some of the basic fundamental design principals as well as given me a better understanding of what I should be including into my design in the future.

Reading Responses:Distance & Engagement

This reading focused on the importance of the use of spatial verbs. The use of these verbs allows for designers to create understanding between different combinations of ideas. Reading this book pointed out that using there are different combinations and variations of designs that can be created by mixing two or more spatial verbs. They also can be seen using 3D representations to create spaces or objects that people can interact with. These verbs help designers find a starting point or begin with a small foundation in the design process because without it they would have to start from the ground up which can be very difficult. Using the spatial verbs also gives the designer a chance to see and incorporate interactive spaces within the design and have less structural spaces that may be hard to incorporate into the landscape. Reading this book before starting project 1 in LA103L allowed me to understand that everyone has a different thought process and even though everyone is using the same verbs to create their landscape, we are all able to create landscapes that have some similarities but are extremely different. Without even thinking about human interactions in the create landscape, some natural interactive areas were created in my designs and allowed for several types of activities to occur in the areas. Landscape architecture as well as any aspect of design will benefit greatly and be able to create ideas that allow us to think “outside the box” and will allow for unique but functional designs to be created.

Operative Design

Field research is very important in the process of making a design for each new project. Each location is different and has aspects that may need to be removed or has potential to be incorporated into our designs. But without physically exploring the spaces for yourself, when considering a design, it may cause your designs to be hard to visualize and incorporate efficiently. We can have others do the field research for us, but the sketches, diagrams, and photographs made by that person will not be able to communicate all the distinct aspects of the location. We need to consider the atmosphere, weather conditions, and areas that can be incorporated into the design instead of destroyed to follow our mental image of the area instead of the original experiences of the area. Going on the Valley of Fire and Shoshone field trip allowed me to see different perspectives and views that I would not have noticed through images shown to me. There was meaning in every picture I took and every sketch I made during my time on the field trip. I would not be able to understand the meaning of the information taken and gathered by my classmates. I would have to guess and ask the meanings of each image they create when they were on the trip because they might have a different thought process that me when creating each image. Our firsthand experiences and our own research are things that influence what we design so we need to understand that with our body and the location is one of the most important steps in the design process.

Between Search and Research though The Way We Work

Yorkeshire Dales Geology

I n this portion of the book, the author writes about exploring the geological aspects of the landscapes. The designers carefully went into the landscape and documented mini landscapes found it stones and rocks from the area. This showed a miniature landscape that could represent the actual landscape they were observing and designing for. They photographed these rocks up close and this allows for a detailed picture that can be used to understand the geological landforms and topography that make up the area. The landscape and the rock both endured the same weathering conditions which caused them to erode the same way allowing for a mature landscape to form while showing the overall aspects of the landscape and the actual landscape shows more details that cannot be see in the miniature landscapes. We used this method of photographing mini landscape with scale figures during the field trip and photographed actual landscapes that had were visually similar and had comparable properties allowing for understanding that landscape can be found in various locations at many different scales. This was an important process of helping us understand the importance of scale and how to relate the models we were creating to real life situations. With our models we did not consider the textures of the ground and seeing the various landscapes with their own individual textures helped us incorporate these textures into our model designs. Knowing this we were also able to make a more interactive landscape within the models we made for our final project.

Novartis Campus

Through this portion of the reading. it became apparent that diagraming and experimenting was an essential part of the design process. When a design is made, it is never the final plan that will be followed for the final design. Designers must experiment, explore, and review all the little aspects of the design that may convey something not intended for the viewers. The creation of diagrams and models of the designs can show flaws that may leading to alterations that can improve the original designs significantly. The model also allows for a more realistic view of the design for the designer and the clients and working with it and having carefully photographed areas of the model can give accurate 1:1 scaled pictures. This will allow designers to understand what the final views of the designs will look like to people enjoying the space created. In the two projects for LA103L, we were given the option of using plaster or anchoring cement to make casting for our models. I made my casting with plaster and that allowed me to experiment with the inverse of my original landscapes but in contrast my friend create his using anchoring cement, so he was forced to use his original landscapes. The material not able to be altered or given any additions to create a more interesting design. This situation and the reading lead me to understand that experimenting materials and altering designs is an important process of the design that can happen at any time during the process.

Glossary

One of the words that stood out to me was choreography. Before coming into landscape architecture, I never saw how design could to be linked to choreography in any way. But after experiencing, learning and reading about various concepts during this first year and noticed that as landscape architects we can influence the way people communicate and interact with the land. When we create path ways for people to follow in our designs, it influences people to follow them and allows us to control their movements to something similar to what other people will perform on the same path. Choreography normally refers to dance and the movements that are planned to successfully execute the dance correctly. There will always be small alterations to the dance steps depending on who is following the steps but like creating paths in a landscape many people will most likely follow the path created. I have noticed in the assignments I have designed for this quarter many of paths made to influence space has come out naturally and was not necessary for me to go and create a path to encourage specific movements in the landscape. The final project this quarter, I implied a path by using a group of trees to surround the path and lead people from one end of the project to the other. I find that using an implied path gives more opportunity for people to explore the landscape and find new ways of looking and traveling through it.

The Shape of the Walk

The designers experienced the landscape first hand and learned about different methods of walking through the landscape they were improving. Walking through the landscape allows them to find what aspects will negatively or positively influence the design of the walk. When they design the path for their walk, it can be influenced by the way the path is formed. Depending on the path people may experience different views and understandings of the location. Connecting the creation of the path to topography is another important aspect that is considered in the design. If topography is not considered during the design it can make the walk difficult and may cause the design of the path itself to not merge well with the overall design of the project and the original surrounding landscape. Returning to the location after creating a design can help see the design team see improvements they can make in their design or things in their design that could be further explored. The original design could have manmade designs incorporated but the design may be improved with the already existing pathways that give understanding to the current landscape while adding a few or new will give the wrong perspective the designers plan for. The designers also have to consider the owner’s vision for the area and try to incorporate in a logical fashion that allows for realism and imagination in the design. This leads back to visiting locations first hand and creating models to understand the situation from different views.

Landscape ArchitectureLecture Responses

Sara Abed

“Let your voice be heard”

Lecture1

What does it mean to let your voice be heard? I noticed that everyone always says to get involved and “let your voice be heard” in politics but it also refers to your situations in general, such as school and taking initiative to speak to people in charge to change things. I thought that this year as a first-year student I would be more outgoing and put myself in situations that would allow me to get involved in general school activities and eventually speak out about situations I do not agree with. I found that though it is easy to tell yourself you will do it, it is a struggle to act on these thoughts. I sincerely hope that next year I will at least be involved in the ASLA club to expand social circle and improve my involvement.

Vanessa Santos

“We need to learn how to talk to each other”

Lecture2

I noticed that even when I was young I never really spoke to any of my neighbors. I currently still live in the same house I lived all my life and I do not even know what my neighbors’ names are. I thought this was normal but realized after going to school that this was not always the norm. People use to talk to their neighbors and help strangers all the time but over the years we began to fear each other because of race and fear or “stranger danger”. When Vanessa Santos mentioned “we need to learn how to talk to each other”, I knew that this was true both in politics and in our everyday lives.

Ann Christoph

“It seems to me that with landscape architecture we can

make real spaces that more creative things can happen in

them”

Lecture3

When I was listening to Ann Christoph talk about the community garden project she was involved in and how it connected and affected people in more ways the designers/community thought was possible. I remember when learning about Grand Park in Los Angeles, people just thought that this was a place for the community to get away from all the hardscape that dominated the city. But in reality, it came to be a major gathering area for several of the most important gatherings of the last decade. The designers did not realize that this would be how the space would be used but the design allowed for many different events to occur efficiently.

Barry Lehrman

“Perhaps this is too big a task to complete but I haven’t given up

yet”

Lecture4

This quote was chosen because Barry Lehrman was speaking about his ambitions of creating a design that would solve various problems that are encountered by designers’ not just landscape architects. I realized that he has been working on many of his projects for long time spans and some of his projects are still on going, exceeding 10 years. I was told by previous professors that landscape change and depending on whom you work for or what you’re trying to do our jobs takes significant amounts of time to accomplish. It also points out that our designs as landscape architects are always and forever changing even if we do not anticipate them.